Dominic Theim wins maiden Grand Slam in thrilling 5 set victory

After losing two sets, Austria’s Dominic Theiem defeated Alexander Zverev in an unprecedented tiebreaker in the fifth set to win the US Open Men’s Singles title and he became the first player in 71 years to win the title by losing first two sets. Thiem went 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 on the verge of defeat at the Arthur Ash Stadium without an audience.

First Grand Slam Champion born in the 90’s

27 year old Theim became the first player Austrian tennis player born in the 90’s era to win a Grand Slam. Dominic Thiem, who won the US Open title in men’s singles this year, has praised his opponent Germany’s Alexander Zverev. The US Open final was played between the two, which was very tough and interesting. In this match played on Sunday evening, Thiem scored a come from behind win to claim his first Grand Slam and US Open title 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6.

With this, the final became the first final in tournament history, which was decided in the tie-breaker of the fifth set. He also became the first player to win the title after losing the first two sets at the US Open in the Open Era.

Thiem said, ‘We have known each other since 2014 and our friendship grew since then. And then a great rivalry. We do good things inside and outside the court. It is fantastic that our journey has given us an opportunity to share this moment. I wish we could have two winners today. We both deserved it. Thiem has become the second player to win a Grand Slam for his country. Before that Thomas Muster won the French Open title in 1995. He lost his first three Grand Slam finals, one of which was the Australian Open final this year where Novak Djokovic defeated him.

He said, ‘It was meant to be like this. My career has always been the same as today’s match – many ups and downs and I liked the way it happened. Zverev was stepped into the Grand Slam final for the first time. He too praised on Thiem. He said, ‘I want to congratulate Dominic for the first Grand Slam title. I wish you had missed it a little more, this trophy would have been in my hands, but I am speaking here as the runner-up.’

He said, ‘I want to thank my team for being with me. The last two years have not been easy for my tennis career. We are definitely going ahead and I hope we will lift the trophy one day.